Ground anchor for guy wires



May 9, 1961 R. LANGER GROUND ANCHOR FOR GUY WIRES Filed De c. 5, 195'?INVENTOR RICHAR D LANGER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,983,345 fGROUND ANCHOR FOR GUY WIRES RichardLanger, Baden, Wurttemberg, GermanyFiled Dec. 5, 1951, Ser. No. 700,77 Claims priority, application GermanyDec. 6, 1956 3 Claims. cl. 189-151 This invention relates to groundanchors for guy wires and the like. r

Ground anchors, such as rocks, blocks :of concrete and the like, towhich is connected a wire attached to an object to be braced, haveheretofore been employed for the permanent anchoring of poles foroverhead conductors, wiring systems for fruit and vegetable gardeninhops raising, and the like.

Since it is very diflicult to recess these securing means in the groundso-called screw anchors have'been developed, in which a disk-like screwthread is disposed around a core piece having the form of a shaft. Suchscrew anchors are easy to screw into the ground, but they arecomparatively expensive and the screw thread, because of its immovablepositionon the core cannot give way to stones or the like, so that inunfavourable terrain it presents its own diificulties.

To reduce the cost of these devices the core pieces have been cut oifdirectly above the screw thread and provided with a four-cornered shaft.The anchor is then screwed into the ground with the aid of a specialsocket wrench which can be removed after the anchor is screwed -in. Thewire rope used for anchoring is secured in a chor is used that comprisesmerely a radially slotted, cen-.

trally pierced and helically twisted plate. By eliminating the corepiece the ground anchor can be manufactured very simply and cheaply. Itis now merely necessary to punch out a suitably shaped plate from sheetiron and to press it into the desired form. The former securing of theplate to the core piece by welding, brazing or the like is no longerrequired nor is it necessary to make a core piece at all. Since thewrench used for screwing the anchor into the ground does not have to berigidly joined to the plate, the latter is movable relative to thewrench, can be screwed into the ground more easily, and, most important,is able to give way before stones or other comparatively hard materials.Thus it is possible to employ the plate even in particularlyunfavourable ground.

The shape of the central hole in the plate corresponds preferably aboutto the cross-section of the socket wrench used to screw the plate intothe. ground. However, the two parts do not have to be fitted exactly toeach other. It is only necessary to prevent their reciprocal rotation.Perfect guidance is not required.

According to another feature of the invention a tubular socket wrench isused which, at its lower end where it is to engage in the hole in theplate, is cut open in the longitudinal direction approximately as far asthe longitudinal axis, and the hole in the plate has an inwardlypointing, tongue-shaped lobe. The lobe fits directly into the slottedsocket wrench and thus permits non-rotational connection between the twoparts. The

tongue-shaped lobe is also used to secure the guy wir and has a specialhole for this purpose.

In order to further reinforce the connection between the socket wrenchand the plate the former can be furnished with lugs to engage inrecesses in the plate. It is also possible to furnish the plate withlugs which in turn engage in recesses of lugs connected to the socketwrench. In order, despite the lug connection between the two parts, toobtain maximum mobility of the plate relative to the socket wrench, therecesses are preferably designed as curved elongated holes. Since theplate is helically twisted its recesses or lugs will be situated atdifierent heights and therefore the corresponding parts of the wrenchshould also be situated at diflerent heights. In order to stiifen theplate the latter, according to another feature of the invention, isarched in the radial direction.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

' Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ground anchor in accordance withthe invention, shown as screwed into the ground with a socket wrench,

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the ground anchor with a guywire connected thereto,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the ground anchor in partially formedcondition,

Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified form of ground anchor,

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the lower part of a tubular socketwrench, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the lower part of a square socketwrench with a ground anchor plate in another modified form.

The ground anchorplate 1 shown in Figure 3 has been punched in thedisklike form from a piece of sheet'iron. Part 2 of this plate runs insubstantially known manner from the centre to the outside withincreasing spacing. Plate 1 is pierced in the centre at 3. The hole isfitted at 4 and 5 to the diameter of the tubular socket wrench 7 shownin Figure 6. A tongue-shaped lobe 6 engages in the interior 8 of socketwrench 7 which is slit in the lower part 9 to the longitudinal axis.Lobe 6 has a hole 10 which is used to connect the guy wire 11. Plateopening 3 is also provided with two recesses 12 which engage with lugs13 of socket wrench 7.

After the punching process plate 1 is cold pressed, and given thehelical form represented in Figure 2, thus producing the helicallytwisted plate 14. To make possible this kind of twisting plate 1 is slitradially at 15. To facilitate screwing plate 14 into the ground socketwrench 7, as shown in Figure 1 is provided at the top with a handle 16.To allow passage of guy wire 11, socket Wrench 7 is made tubular and hasa hole 17 at the top.

Figure 4 shows another form of plate 18 in which centre hole 19 has asomewhat diiferent shape and the recesses are designed as elongatedholes 20. Figure 5 shows the cross-section of plate 18 in radialdirection. From this representation it can be seen that plate 18 isconcavely arched, from which considerable stiifening results.

In Figure 7 a socket wrench 21 is represented in the form of a square.The disk 22 fitted to its end has no recesses, but is provided with pins23 which engage in holes 24 through lugs 25 of socket wrench 21.

Plate 14, 18 or 22 is screwed into the ground in the same way as knownanchors by turning socket wrench 7 or 21 after its insertion until plate14, 18 or 22 has attained the desired depth. During the turning processguy wire 11, which has previously been passed through hole 10 and theinterior of socket wrench 7, 21, projects out through hole 17. Afterremoval of socket Patented May 9, 1961 wrench 7, 21, y wire 11 can befastened to the object to be braced. The manufacture of the representedground anchor is particularly simple and cheap and its screwing into theground entails no difficulties, becauserowing to the mobility of plate14, 118,22 relative tolsocket wrench 7 '21 the disk can yield to anystones or othertobstacles encountered during the screwing in process.

I claim:

'1. A ground anchor for guy wires adapted to be screwed into the groundby a wrench, comprising a helically shaped disk-like plate having acentrally disposed opening for axially slidably receiving said wrench, aradial slit extending from said opening having oneedge bent upwardly andanother edge bent downwardly thereby forming the plate into a helix,means adjacent said opening for axially slidably receiving said wrench,said means having wrench abuttingand anchor motivating edges, wherebysaid anchor is axially ,vertically slidable on said wrench to efiectvertical movement of said anchor relative to said wrench when saidanchor encounters an obstaclein the ground, said plate having .a firstedge and a second edge, saidfirst and second ledges .being an anchorleading edge and anchor trailing edge respectively whensaid anchoris-rotating in one direction and an anchor trailing edge and an anchorleading edge when said anchor is rotating in another direction, andmeans on said plate for securing a guy wire thereto. a

2. A ground anchor for guy wires adapted to be screwed into the groundby a wrenchhaving :a plurality of depending fingers at one endthcreof,;said anchorcomprising a helically shaped disk-like plate having.a centrally disposed opening for axially slidablyreceivingsaid wrench,a radial slit extending from said opening having one edge bent upwardlyand another edge bent downwardly thereby forming the plate :into ahelix,means adjacent said opening for axially slidablyreceiving said dependingfingers of said wrench, said means having wrench abutting and anchormotivating edges, whereby said anchor is axially vertically slidable onsaid wrench to efiect vertical movement of said anchor relative to saidwrench when said anchor-encounters an obstacle in the ground, said platehaving a first edge and a second edge, vsaid first and second edgesbeing an anchor leading edge and anchor trailing edge respectively whensaid anchor is rotating in one direction and an anchor trailing edge andan anchor leading edge when said anchor is rotating in anotherdirection, and means on said plate for securing a guy wire thereto.

3. A ground anqhqr $0.1 guy wires adapted to be screwed into the groundby a wrench having a plurality of depending fingers atone endthereofsaid anchor comprising a helically shaped disk likeplatehaving acentrally disposed opening for axially slidably receiving said Wrench, aradial slit, extending frorn said opening having one edge bent upwardlyand another edge bent downwardly thereby forming the plate into a helix,a plurality of arcuate slots adjacent said opening for axially slidablyreceiving said opening fingers of said wrench, ,eachsaid slot havingwrench abutting and anchor motivating edges, the longitudinal axis ofsaid slots having a common radius, whereby said anchor is;a-xiallyvertically slidable on said wrench to effect vertical movementof said anchor relativeto saidwrenchwhen'said anchor encounters anobstacle in the ground, 'a lug'integral on said-plate and projectinginto said opening, said lug having a comi x wrench engageable edge-inradially opposite relationship to said radialslit, said plate having; afirstedge and asecand edge, said 'first and second edges being an anchorleading edge and anchor trailing edge-respectively when said anchor isrotating in one'direction and an anchor trailing edge and ananchorleading edge 'whensaid anchor is rotating in another directioh,and means onsaid plate for securing a guy wire thereto.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UN T STATES P EN

